


Ace of spades

by KaihiroKu



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: And a sexy one at that, Blood Kink, Dark Romance, F/M, Hisoka is a funny psycho, Mention of psychological issues, Mentions of Rape, Slow Burn, teasing and flirting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2020-07-23 09:47:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20006287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaihiroKu/pseuds/KaihiroKu
Summary: Himiko has her own reasons for wanting to take the Hunter exam, she expected it to be a bit challenging but never did she thought she would meet someone as dangerous and alluring as Hisoka. The magician seems to have taken an interest in her as well especially after the display of her intriguing abilities.He will patiently wait for the fruit to ripe and take pleasure in killing her... Or will he?





	1. Intro

**Voices, whispers... From where ?**

**Perhaps it's the dead talking, or maybe demons. What matters is that they are on my side. They make comments on things and people all the time and they are rarely wrong. I called this power 'shadow seer', I never had to develop it though it manifested itself when I was a child. A bad encounter with the wrong people cost my parents their lives, I was there too but I somehow survived. The bad guys used strange abilities on us and while it killed my parents, it awakened something in me. I escaped and was found in time and healed, when I woke up the voices were there, they haven't left me ever since. I've learnt to trust the voices, especially with the dangerous life I was forced to live. They end up being right one way or another but that doesn't mean I always listen to them. Avoiding danger is no fun, but knowing it's there can be useful. I'm not quite sure what I can do with it yet but I know a few things. The voices actually have faces, I met a couple of them in my dreams and they even have names!**

**Martha is the nice girl, she's the voice of reason and a good judge of character. It's her I trust when I meet new people.**

**Crowley is an ass but he's funny, he is the voice of sarcasm. His comments are insightful, if you can understand them.**

**And then we have the discreet whisperer, Lamae. She knows secrets and fears, unspoken truths but you have to pay attention to hear her.**

**There are others too but they never bothered to introduce themselves, by far those three are the ones who participate the most. Other than that, I'm a good fighter but I don't like weapons much, it's too obvious what you're gonna do with them and I like to take my enemies by surprise. I do have a dagger hidden in my left boot for emergencies, it's my lucky charm so to speak. Otherwise I fight with what I find, there isn't really a weapon I like more than another so... In any case, I decided to take the exam to become a Hunter. With the Hunter's database I'm sure I can find my parents' murders and tie that loose end before moving on with my life. Whoever killed my parents had a grudge against our family and when they learnt I survived they tried to kill me again but not themselves. They sent assassins after me, but they failed. I was 12 years old when I met my first assassin, I almost died but it was a good lesson. I've spent the last ten years running from assassins, I could stop and kill them but it's just endless !**

**I couldn't find my parents' murderers on my own, so joining the Hunter's community seemed like the only way...**


	2. Orange juice of friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Himiko notices Hisoka who in turns notices her, they both stand out and everyone seems to know they better avoid the two of them. She meets with the rookie crusher and makes a bet with him... But it's not really what he expected.

Beans enters the elevator and I follow after him, I try not to stare too much but I can't help but wonder if he has the insides of an actual bean... I almost want to cut him with my knife, just a small scratch to see if his blood is red too. _Almost._ The elevator goes down for a few seconds before reopening, Beans and I step outside. We're underground in something that looks like a huge tunnel.

"Congratulation, you're the first to arrive!" Beans says in an enthusiastic voice before handing me a plate with the number 1 on it. I did nothing extraordinary to arrive first, I just happened to be the closest to the place I guess. Well, I did travel at night without using any public transports so it was harder for them to slow me down, there were a few obstacles on the way of course. They called it 'shortlisting' or something, I call it life but whatever.

"Oh, do I win something ?" I question him, is there a prize for the first one to arrive? I doubt it.

"Hm, personal glory?" He answers jokingly. Right, I thought so. This is an exam after all, not a game but that doesn't mean I won't have fun. Fun is important. Beans goes back up with the elevator and I'm left alone in a huge, empty and dark room. So, this is my prize : boredom. It's true when they say the first place is a lonely one... The voices are quite for now so I sit on the floor and take my tarot cards out. I always have a deck of cards with me, I do readings. It's just a hobby of mine, or an obsession if you want. I spraid the cards out in a fan in front of me and pick three random cards.

 _What does this exam have in store for me?_ I ask. I could ask if I'll pass or not but I don't see the logic there, it's obvious I will and if I don't, then I don't wanna know that in advance. It'll ruin the fun.

 _The two of sword, the knight of cups and the Magician._ No stress, confidence, lay back and enjoy yourself are basically what the cards are telling me. So, a bit of a challenge with a bit of fun ? Sounds like my kind of exam !

 **Too much fun can be dangerous. Beware of the Magician.** A deep, mysterious male voice says.

"Thank you random voice, for speaking in riddles." I'm glad I am not entirely alone at least, I never really am.

_Time skip~~_

People have started to arrive in much larger groups and more frequently, still it's been two hours already and we're only at number 40.

"Number 41, 42 and 43." Beans says out loud as he hands over the plates before disappearing in the elevator again. His job sucks... Up until now most examinees are nothing impressive, I don't like to rate people but most of them are barely reaching average. They don't even have potentials...

I feel it before Beans even anounces the number, the new comer has a strong presence unlike the previous ones.

"Number 44."

I take a better look at the odd man, his outfit stands out. He is dressed like a sort of jester with card symbols on his shirt. He has red hair gelled up and a thin layer of white make up on his face as well as a star symbol drawn on his right cheek and a blue tear on his left.

 _ **The Magician.**_ The same mysterious voice speaks.

Ah, so the Magician referred to an actual person... I don't judge his style, mine is particular too after all. I'm more on the rock'n'roll side with a tight black leather pant, knee high black boots with small heels, and a lacy red and black top that reveals just a little bit of cleavage, I wear a long sleeveless black jacket to go with it. I guess gothic could be a description for it as well but I don't wear any make up. I also have long white hair I tied up in a braid, so it doesn't get in the way, and bright purple eyes.

The man quickly scans the room, his eyes stop on me for a few seconds and he slightly squints them before completely desinteresting himself from me.

Another strong man has joined us it seems but this one is a lot creepier. N°301... Never saw someone with pins in their face before. That's an... interesting look.

_**A blade in the dark, the written promise of a swift death.** _

_Wait, what ? An assassin ?!_ He can't be here for me, right ? No, that can't be it... he hasn't even glanced my way but I better keep an eye on him. Another hour passes, the place is starting to be crowded we're over 400 now and it seems people are starting to walk on each other a bit.

Just then I feel bloodlust, swiftly followed by a scream. I turn around only to witness a man, terrified as his arms are litterally disappearing into red confettis. The man screams and cries as he stumbles on the ground, terrified and in pain, and well, armless.

"Ah, how peculiar..." The Magician says in an alluring voice, though it betrays how angry he actually is. " His arms seem to have become flower petals. "

_Oh, I thought it was confettis... My bad._

"Do take care. When you bump into someone, it's best to apologize." He says and it's definetly a warning to all the examinees. I take note not to step on this guy's foot in the future...

" N°44, Hisoka the magician." Says a man a few meters from me. He notices me looking at him and smiles in a friendly way. "Hey there, a new face!" He exclaims in a cheerful voice. I turn to face him and he goes on, "I'm Tompa, I've tried the exam before so if you have questions, don't hesitate !" He offers.

Of course, nobody has bothered to even say hello and you offer help for free? Not fishy at all.

 _ **Failure.**_ A voice whispers.

" Hi Tompa, I'm Himiko. " I simply introduce myself. I look at him up and down, this guy has nothing special actually he is even below average. A bit chubby, he doesn't carry himself like a fighter, he has the eyes of a fox but not much else... I don't trust him. I ask him a couple questions, he says he knows some of the candidates from previous years, he failed 36 times... Seriously, this guy has failure as a middle name. It's weird he keeps trying, he doesn't look like the type of person to be determined, he doesn't have that fire in his eyes.

 **Envy.** Martha says.

" Ah, and this guy over there." He says discreetly pointing at the man from earlier, n°44... "That's Hisoka." He adds his voice even lower as if he was scared he could hear his name being pronounced even from a distance. " He's dangerous, last year he was disqualified for trying to kill an examiner !" Tompa explains. Maybe the examiner had it coming? I glance at Hisoka, I guess he likes card games because he is playing with a deck, shuffling the cards and making some disappear an reappear. If he feels us watching him, Hisoka doesn't give any sign that he knows or cares.

Tompa clears his throat, breaking my contemplation of the dashing man. " Ahem, anyhow I'd like to give you this." He says, fumbling in his bag before taking out a can of orange juice, "To our new friendship !" He says joyfully as he extends his gift to me, I take it.

 _ **Failure. He wishes others to have a taste of it. Drink and you will...**_ I recognize Martha's warning voice.

 _ **The rookie crusher.**_ Lamae whispers to me.

I take a look at the can in my hand, **Poisonned, like his heart.** A random voice butts in and I frown. He wants to poison me, really?

 **Hmm, orange juice of « friendship »...** Crowley says in a sarcastic voice with a nasty laugh.

I knew he was fishy, even without the voices I would not have drunk this. Poison, huh? Perhaps I should teach him a lesson?

" Say Tompa, do you like games ? " I ask him and he seems confused though he smiles politely.

" I do, I like to gamble actually. " He admits.

"How about a sort of gamble ? It's simple, I give you a dare and if you do it, I give you money. But if you refuse to do it you get a forfeit instead." I explain him. Tompa looks at me a bit worriedly, of course he is a coward so a dare is probably scary for him. I thought the mention of money would lure him in but he might have lied about being a gambler too.

"Come on, we're friends aren't we ?" I add and raise my juice as if I am about to drink from it. His face immediately changes, he seems eager to see me drink from it. He's bad at hiding his feelings... I stop my lips inches from the can and look at him with a frown, pretending to be mad that he doesn't want to play with me.

"Ah, alright. Why not, I'm in." He accepts, expecting it would make me drink but I give him an excited smile instead and pretend to have forgotten about the juice.

"Awesome, you ready ?" I ask him and he nods not too enthusiastically. " Don't worry, I'm not mean! Here, something simple to start. Drink this." I order him as I stretch my arm holding the can to him. His eyes widen slightly and he raises his hands in defense.

"But it's a gift for you, I can't--"

" Then you refuse?" I ask him in a somber voice.

"Ah, give me another dare." He says apologetically but I shake my head.

"No, you have a forfeit remember? But since we're friends, I'll let you choose between the dare and this." I explain him, I can tell he's growing uncomfortable.

" W-what's the forfeit?" He asks reluctantly.

I smile evily, I walk closer to him and speak inches from his ear, " I'll gut you out like a pig, you'll scream for help in agony as you desperately clutch your stomach trying to keep your insides from coming out. But they will ignore you and you'll bleed out as they watch and laugh..." I whisper to him and let a bit of my sinister bloodlust out. I know he is no fighter but trust me he can feel that. Tompa's face is priceless, he is so pale and scared that for a moment I am afraid he might pass out before I'm done with him. He seems unsure if he should take it as a sick joke or not.

 _ **She'll do it.**_ A voice echoes in Tompa's mind.

" What ? W-who said that ?" Tompa asks out loud, I hold back a laughter. It's fun to use the voices to harass people mentally, it's great psychological torture. "Y-you're not really going to--"

I cut him off, " Drink or die. The choice should be simple. Do you need a count down? I can do that for a friend." I tell him with a twisted smile, how he must be regretting ever talking to me right now.

"W-wait, whatever I did I'm sorry !" He yells as he gets on the floor to beg me. A few heads turn our way with curiosity, some with confusion and one with amusement. _Hisoka..._

"You have 10 seconds to make your choice." I announce coldly before starting counting.

" Ten, nine, eight..."

 _ **She's lying.**_ A voice whispers to Tompa.

"Seven, six, five... " I start reaching in my boot for my dagger.

_**She'll kill you at 3.** _

"Four, th-- "

« I'LL DO IT ! I'll drink it !! » He shouts, panick taking over him. I smile brightly, my personality changing completely from threatening to happy-go-lucky. Tompa's forehead is sweaty and his hands are slightly shaking from the adrenaline. I clasp my hands and exclaim joyfully, " Nice choice! Here you go." I hand him the juice and he takes it with a shaky hand. He looks at it with apprehention and gulps, I do my best to not roll my eyes. Come on! Have some guts and just get it over with... He finally starts drinking it down and I nod in satisfaction.

" Good ! Ah and don't throw up, or I'll make you choke on it." I warn him before leaving him with a wave of my hand. The small circle of people that had gathered around us scatters at my approach to let me pass, some look at me with dread, some with respect. I hear the examinees whisper here and there as I walk by:

_Looks like the rookie crusher got what he deserved..._

_It was bound to happen some day._

_That girl freaks me out._

And then I feel eyes on me, I turn in the direction of my fan and it's none other than Hisoka. His yellow eyes are half lidded, he stares at me with a small smirk he hides behind a card, I can see it's the joker as he holds the front towards me.

_**A silent promise.** _

A promise? Some voices are really confusing. I cock my head to the side as I look at him, he's obviously dangerous I don't need the voices to guess that. He takes the card away from his face and cocks his head too, miroring me with a playful smile.

However, our staring contest is interrupted by a weird alarm, followed by the opening of a heavy door. A strange man is standing there, he is tall with long and slender limbs, he also has a pretty cool moustache...


	3. Off to the races

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, phase one begins: Himiko meets with Gon and his new friends, she also gets to talk to Hisoka.

"The entry period for Hunter applicants has ended. Let us begin the Hunter exam!" He announces to the assemblee. Immediately I sense the whole room tense up, I've been waiting for this the whole day!  
The examiner starts walking fast, albeit in a strange fashion, until we end up running after him. He introduces himself as Satotz, the phase one examiner.

"You must follow me to phase two." He explains as he takes effortless long strides. So that's the first phase : endurance? Damn, I've spent a good portion of my life running, I can handle this.

"Hey ! Why are you using a skateboard?!" I hear a man shout from behind, the man in a suit is yelling at a white haired kid for using a skateboard instead of running.  
I can't quite hear what they say but the argument ends quickly with the boy jumping off his skate and running along with another kid his age. I'm quite curious about them, they are amongst the last examinees to have arrived, except for the skateboard kid whom I already noticed earlier today. I get a nice vibe from them and there's potential in them too, they all seem to have either skills, quick wits or instincts.  
I slow down my pace a little until they catch up to me, the white haired kid is the first to notice me.

"It's you ! What did you do to Tompa to make him drink it?" He asks casually, pretending not to be too interested or impressed.

"Hm? Oh that. Tompa lost a bet, but learnt a lesson." I vaguely explain with a grin. The kid hums in response but he seems satisfied with my answer.

"What's your name?" He asks.

"I'm Himiko, you?"

_**A smaller blade, but just as deadly.** _

"Killua." He answers plainly. Great, another assassin. Though this one might still be in training... is he related to the other dude? They don't really look alike though.

" It wasn't very nice what you did! Tompa didn't know the juice had expired." The other kid chimes in, he has black hair spiked up in a tousled look and honest eyes.

 ** _Innocence, wild and untamable._** Martha chimes in.

" Expired, huh? Did any of you drink it?" I ask them, a bit worried, looking at the two others as well. The man in a suit and another man with a blue tunic and blond hair.

" No, Gon realized it before we drank it thanksfully." The blond teenager explains.

"Then he saved you, chubby had poisoned them." I tell him and they gasp.

"Yeah, it tasted like laxative or something." Killua says. Wait, he drank it? Oh, right assassins are trained to resist all kinds of poisons. Killua explains about his poison training to the others who looked worried at his words but he leaves the assassin part out.

I chuckle, " Have your parents taught you nothing? Don't accept candy from strangers." I berate them.

"He was not a stranger, he gave us his name!" The black haired kid says and this time I laugh out loud. Ah innocence is a precious thing !

"That's not how it works..." The blond tells him while he shakes his head in disbelief. 

"Hah, what are your names then ?" I ask them so we are no longer strangers. The kid introduces himself cheerfully as Gon, the blond as Kurapika.

"And the grumpy old man is Leorio." Kurapika tells me.

" What do you mean grumpy?" He questions, baffled. "And I'm a teenager just like you!" He shouts and we all look at him with our mouths wide open. Wow, even the voices couldn't guess that... he looks older than me and I'm 22!  
We chat some more but eventually they are too focused on their breaths to talk, Leorio especially seems to have some trouble keeping up but I don't doubt he has the determination to overcome it.  
The two kids go off to a race and I'm left with Kurapika who clearly doesn't want to talk anymore. I decide it's time for me to move forward and see if I can find someone to speak with, there are a couple of promising examinees ahead of us. I wave Kurapika goodbye before speeding up.  
I chat with an overly cheerful and enthusistic bald ninja by the name of Hanzo, I had to go all the way to the front to meet this guy, he will have no trouble passing the exam. He spent his whole life training, his muscles seem to remember every mouvement with ease and habit. He has no issues speaking continuously while running faster than most without losing his breath and he is barely sweating. I'm impressed.  
I spend some more time slowing down and speeding up, listening on what the voices have to say about the examinees I run by. Tompa is nowhere to be seen, he must be lying on the ground somewhere, clutching his stomach and doing his best not to litterally shit himself.  
Most people are torn in between staring at me or avoiding my gaze which is quite funny to me. Make up your minds guys !  
Without realizing it I end up running a few meters behind Hisoka, as I thought he's not breaking a sweat. It's obvious we both went through much worse in our lives than a couple of stairs. _Does he know I'm watching? Of course he does, but he pretends not to._  
_Oh, well does that mean I'm allowed to look then?_ I scan him up and down, his body is lean but muscular and ripped reminding me of that of a feline. My eyes linger a bit on his bottom. _Ah that's a fine ass..._

 _ **Rock solid.**_ A voice comments and I almost burst out laughing. Dang it, don't be funny or I'll look deranged!  
I look up before someone notices my butt examination of Hisoka, only for my eyes to meet his golden ones. He was watching me watching him with a glint of wickedness in his eyes. I'm not ashamed of my staring, I'm only human. I give him an innocent look pretending not to know why he's looking at me which makes him grin even wider.

"My, my~~ Someone's staring." He says in a low voice, almost too low for me to hear.

" I hope you don't mind, there are not many distractions at the moment." I tell him with an apologetic smile. He raises a brow before chuckling, he looks in my eyes some more as if assessing me before turning his head back ahead. I speed up a little to run next to him, there's plenty of space around him as it seems the others keep their distance from the man. Wise.

" I'm Himiko by the way." I tell him just as he turns his gaze to me curiously.

"Hmm, Hisoka~ " He says, I keep for myself the fact that I already know that.

"I look forward to see more of your tricks, magician." I tell him with a wink before speeding up and disappearing in the sea of people on the front.

 ** _Hehe, he looked.._**. Says Crowley. I grin, I don't need to ask him I know exactly _what_ Hisoka looked at. Ah well, it's a fair game.  
Finally after hours of running we reach the end of the tunnel, I arrive shortly after the ninja and some other examinees who had good stamina. Gon and Kirua are already there too and it seems their little race ended in a tie.  
Apparently phase one is not over yet, we have to follow Mister Moustache through some kind of foggy jungle/swamp filled with deceitful and deadly creatures. Now, that's my kind of race !

"Be very careful. If they fool you, you will die. So make sure to follow closely behind me..." The examiner explains in a sinister voice, everyone tenses up.

"Don't let him fool you !! " A man suddenly yells at us from the side. He looks wounded and in poor shape as if he had just been beaten down. "He's lying to you ! He's an impostor, not a judge." He says pointing at the examiner. " I'm the real examiner."  
Some examinees gasp at his revelation while others are already accusing our examinor to be an impostor. I wouldn't be so quick to trust a complete stranger who appears out of nowhere. Satotz looks completely unphased by his accusation however, he remains silent.

"Look at this." The stranger says as he drags a dead body from behind the wall, it has a similar face as Satotz and the same moustache but his body is that of a monkey. What the fuck ?

**_Lies._ **

"It's a man-faced ape, these creatures live here in the Numere wetlands." The man explains, apparently they feed on human flesh but because they have long and thin limbs they are physically weak which is why they use a human appearance to lure people to the swamps. That's a bit far-fetched...  
How did he get in? Why was the man who pretends to be the real examinor outside? And more importantly, he sure walked damn fast for some weak ape...  
I can see everyone is asking themselves tones of questions as well while some are already convinced the stranger is telling the truth. Just then I see cards flying, three hit the man and kill him on the spot, three others fly towards Satotz who easily catches them with his hand.  
We all turn our heads towards Hisoka, so the cards were not just for show, huh?

"That clear things up! You are the real one." He declares while looking at Satotz. He explains the clueless examinees that examiners are full fledged Hunters who voluntarily took on the role of jugde for the exam. Any Hunter worthy of that title can block such a simple attack with ease.  
Satotz seem to be taking it as a compliment but he still warns Hisoka not to do that again no matter the reason, or he will be disqualified for trying to harm a examinor. _Again_ , I add in my head.  
While Satotz warn us and berates the candidates who doubted him, I can't help myself but walk closer to Hisoka. I kinda want to run with him and maybe make fun of him a little while I'm at it, but also because I feel strangely safe around him. He is both the safest and most dangerous option, probably depending on his mood.

He notices me but says nothing, there's a bit of curiosity on his face.


	4. The examiner game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Himiko and Hisoka run together through the second part of the run, will she pass the magician's test?

Satotz starts walking/running again as fast as before, no warming up this time. While most examinees desperately want to be on the front so they can see the examiner, me and Hisoka run a bit slower taking our time. If we get lost the voices will guide me, I'm not anxious.

"That's a bad habit, you know? Trying to kill examiners I mean. " I tease Hisoka lightly. He immediately understands I'm refering to last year's exam and chuckles.

"You've been asking questions about me? I'm flattered." He says in his usual alluring voice. I'm about to answer him when I notice the fog is getting thicker, and a small group of examinees is running closer and closer, on each side of us.

**_The pairs think they're up to par, but the Joker is a wildcard._ **

Looks like we're in for a fight, or at least Hisoka is because I have no intention of helping him out. I don't plan on failing this exam because of a magician, besides he is more than capable of taking care of them on his own. Gon and Kirua who were running just ahead of us somehow got the reflex to run away from us but it's already too late for me. The men are hesitant now that it's just me and Hisoka left, since I'm here, but eventually two of them sprint and stop in front of us. Hisoka stops as if he had been expecting this to happen any moment, I on the other hand continue running, much to the examinees disbelief.

"Where do you think you're going ?!" One of them shouts at me and throws a wooden sword my way. I swat it with the palm of my hand like I would an annoying fly.

"Tsk, isn't your issue with the magician ?" I ask them a bit mad. I swear if I fail this phase because I ran out of time...

"You're his friend, we can't let you slip away." He explains. Hisoka and I look at each other with amusement.

"Eh, looks like we're friends now !" I tell him jokingly. He doesn't look like the type to have friends, which makes it even funnier.

"Oh, I thought we were more than that~" He smoothly jokes back which makes me laugh heartily. The examinees are encircling us but I'm not really worried.

" In your dreams maybe." I talk back but we are interrupted by another guy. 

"When I saw you last year I knew you were not worthy of becoming a hunter." One of them says, another promises to spare his life if he swears never to try the hunter exam again. So they are the hunter exam's self-appointed vigilante ? 

"As you wish. I'll succeed this year so I won't have to try it again anyway." Hisoka makes fun of them.

"Succeed? You fool, look at this fog. There's no way to know which way to go." A man explains as if he had it all figured out. His friend tells Hisoka they all failed anyway, so they might as well do this.

"So that's what this is all about. You failed and now you wish to play examiner. Hunters will always look for preys..." Hisoka says, I can tell he is enjoying himself a little. 

"I still don't understand why I was dragged into this mess... " I mumble angrily. First they ask me to stay then they just ignore me and speak to Hisoka? They could have just let me go in the first place.

"Our enemy's friend is also our enemy." One of them explains me. It's no use trying to explain them we're not friends, right? They just won't listen.

"Well then, why don't I play examiner and judge whether you are hunter material myself ?" Hisoka proposes playfully and that seem to set them off. One of them angrily shouts at him and they all run to him with their weapons raised in the air, ready to strike. Hisoka however remains calm and collected as usual, he takes a card in his hand gracefully. Just then I remember how it easily cut through the man's chest like butter and I barely have the time to duck as soon as I feel his bloodlust and manage not to get hurt, in one swift round movement he cuts them all around their stomach. This would have hurt me too if I hadn't dodged !

" Huh, were you trying to kill me?!" I shout angrily at him and give his shoulder a slap but he only smiles happily back at me. " You could give me a warning or something, you moron." I insult him and I gotta admit it feels pretty good. That bastard had no way to know I'd be able to dodge his attack and he still freaking went for it! And now he's ignoring me ! One of the guys survived, the leader of their little skirmish it seems. He is utterly frightened by Hisoka and just crawls on the floor calling for help, it's rather pathetic. Have some dignity... Hisoka seems to think the same because he doesn't drag it out and just throw the card into the man's skull. _The four of spades.._. 

"That's harsh. You killed them with a four of spades? I guess they didn't deserve more." I mumble, I know I would feel insulted. I turn around only to see that Kurapika and Leorio are standing a few feet from us, staring like two idiots. _Why did you fucking come this way ?!_

"Well then, care to participate in my little game of examiner?" Hisoka offers them, though they clearly don't have a choice. I sigh, I've lost enough time as it is but I can't deny I'm having fun too. I raise my hand as if addressing a teacher before calling out to Hisoka. 

"Excuse me, Master Hisoka?" He slowly turns to me with a slightly surprised face. "As much as I'd love to participate, there's another exam I really need to finish... So if we could just get this over with." I tell him, albeit a bit arrogantly. He fully turns towards me and smiles a sickly sweet smile before sending three cards my way without as much as a warning. He aims to kill, the bloodlust makes it clear enough.

 _ **Ace of hearts, two of clubs, nine of diamonds.**_ Says a voice. _Well that's not very useful, stupid voice!_

Unlike Satotz I don't think I can grab his cards, they're too fast for me. Instead, I grab the dead dude from the floor and use him as a shield before the attack can reach me. I push the body away with a grimace and glare at Hisoka whose smile has become a lot creepier in the meantime. 

"You pass !" He says in a cheerful voice. That bastard, it's not what I meant by 'get it over with' ! I stick my tongue out to him in a childish provocation which only makes him chuckle.

" Now!" Kurapika shouts and Leorio and him start running in different directions, taking advantage of Hisoka's distraction. Hisoka turns around to face where Kurapika and Leorio once were and I too take that as my chance to flee, leaving the magician behind and alone.

_(You all know what happens next I'm guessing but just in case here is a quick reminder. You don't have to read this if you remember! So, Leorio comes back because it's against his principles to run away from a fight. Kurapika calls him an idiot. He tries to hit Hisoka but gets beaten instead, Gon arrives and saves him with his fishing rod. Hisoka grabs Gon and almost chokes him before announcing him that they both pass his little test. Hisoka takes the unconscious body of Leorio to bring him to the next phase, he trusts Gon will be able to find his way with Kurapika.)_

I was seriously slowed down by some weird turtle with strawberries on its shell, I wonder if they're edable? I was too busy beating the shit out of it to test, guess I'll never know. A voice said I should keep running straight ahead so that's what I am doing, just as I'm about to start running again I hear bushes rustling behind me. Surprisingly, Hisoka comes out of it and for a second I wonder if it's really him or a creature who took his form for some reason. 

"Oi Hisoka, why's there a dead body on your shoulder?" I ask him as I point at the body he carries, it's only when he turns to me I realize it's Leorio. 

"He's not dead, don't worry." He reassures me when he sees my frown. It's even creepier when he plays nice for some reason... 

"Eh, can I get a free ride too on the Hisoka express?" I mock, only realizing after the obvious sexual innuendo. Hisoka however seems oblivious to it, or at least pretends to be.

"Only if you're unconscious~" He says in a sultry voice, does he do it on purpose? Because he seriously sounds like a rapist. I keep my mouth shut as to not make this conversation any weirder and Hisoka starts running, I follow slightly behind him. I see he looks over his shoulder -the one without Leorio on it- from time to time as if checking whether I am still following and everytime he sees I'm still there, he grins or hums in satisfaction. I notice he is increasing his speed gradually as if testing my limits, near the end he is so fast he could run next to Satotz at this speed. But I tagged along without too much difficulty, it wasn't easy but not really a challenge either. Is that what makes him so happy? When we arrive there's already quite a lot of people there, more than I expected. Hisoka puts Leorio down and just walks off, I do the same to try to find the others. It's not like anything will happen to Leorio here, he's safe now... As I look at the examinees I notice Hanzo seems to have passed just fine, as expected. 

"Oi, Himiko ! Did you happen to see Gon somewhere?" Kirua questions me as soon as he spots me. 

"Can't say I have, but I know where Leorio is." I tell him and point at where Hisoka just left him. 

"Why is he unconscious, what happened?" He asks me with a raised brow.

I shrug, "Hisoka happened."

Eventually Gon and Kurapika arrive, just in time for the next phase it seems. There's something about the way Gon looks at Hisoka that really makes me wonder what he did to them.


	5. Intriguing rookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quickly going over phase 2 because it's not really interesting. Next, phase 3 coming up!

So far the exam has been easy, I'm glad some interesting people are there to spice things up or it would be quite boring. Phase 2 is especially disappointing... Cooking, really? The only part that is even remotely close to fun is the hunting part but slaying those pigs was not really challenging. I guess you could say I was board to death... _Sorry about that_. Anyway, I'm not really good at cooking. I'm a survivor you know, I was never picky with food, I couldn't afford it. So even when I cook I never make anything fancy, as long as it doesn't taste bad I'll eat it. Cooking is clearly not a thing the voices know much about either... The only fun thing is to watch Hisoka's clueless face from a distance, even if he is pretending to be confident about it. I can tell this gourmet girl is a picky bitch compared to her fat partner, and my theory soon turned out to be true. She rejected us, **all of us**. Thanksfully, the chairman showed up, he berated her for disqualifying us saying she couldn't just declare everybody had failed the exam at phase 2, that's too harsh especially for some stupid dish. Though he obviously didn't say it that way.

In the end we were all given a second chance, we had to fetch an egg and cook it. Sounds easy when said like that but that part was actually fun to do! Not so fun for all the people scared of heights though, cause we had to jump off a cliff. The president took us to the split mountain with his airship where we had to jump on a web weaved by spider-eagles. Beneath the web were the eggs we had to take by timing our jump to the ravine's ascending air current as to not die. That was a much better exercise, and we got to eat those delicious eggs so in the end phase 2 wasn't all that bad. Now I know I'm really not gourmet hunter material at least. I have absolutely zero interest in looking for rare ingredients and risking my life for that but I'll remember to respect them. That phase eliminated quite a lot of people and now we're down to 42 candidates ! Many people refused to jump and some died trying. Now we're on the way to phase 3 with the chairman's airship...

"Allow me to introduce myself properly to the 42 remaining applicants. I'm Netero, chairman of this year's hunter exam selection commitee."

"I'm his secretary, Beans !" _Ah! The green guy again._ Netero explains us that he hadn't planned on showing up until the final phase but since he's already here he wants to stay, to get to know us most likely. Apparently we won't arrive until tomorrow morning so we have plenty of time to kill. Gon and Kirua immediately run off to explore the airship while Kurapika and Leorio want to go to sleep. I don't really feel like sleeping yet, I'm way too excited for that so I go eat dinner instead with Hanzo.

"I saw you arrive with Hisoka after the run, do you get along with him?" Hanzo asks me. His friend -I think his name is Gueretta or something- looks surprised by his words but waits for me to confirm. Can anyone truly get along with Hisoka?

"We're friends actually." I tell them, they don't get the private joke of course but I still find it funny to put the word 'friend' and 'Hisoka' in the same phrase. This time Gueretta's jaw drops on the table and Hanzo looks at me with wide eyes.

"Y-you're friends with that creep?" Hanzo asks dumbfounded and perhaps a bit too loudly.

"She isn't, surely it was a joke! Or a lie..." Gueretta says with a side glance. He's probably accusing me of using Hisoka's name to protect myself but I'm more than capable to do that on my own. I don't need to hide behind a name, but I couldn't care less what he thinks.

"Of course Himiko and I are friends~" Hisoka's velvety voice comes from behind Gueretta who's face is priceless. Hanzo tenses up and makes a grimace once he realizes Hisoka probably heard when he called him a creep.

"After all, the Joker and the Ace of spades always get along...♠ " He says mysteriously as he looks into my eyes before walking away. He jumped in and out of the conversation just like that, leaving the three of us dumbfounded. _The ace of spades ? Could it be the card that represents me best in his playing cards according to him?_ In any case it looks like I have a lot of free time so I decide to find myself a quiet place where I can draw the cards in peace. I start by doing a little personnality check on every examinees or at least the interesting ones. I simply ask the cards stuff about them to see what kind of person they are, what they want, why they're here... As I said it is just a hobby and I don't take what I get too seriously but it cannot hurt to take it into consideration, besides it is a great way to pass time.

* * *

_Hisoka and Gitarakur/Irumi are playing some cards together to occupy themselves while chatting a little. The conversation is of course about the exam and the examinees. Hisoka asks Irumi which examinee has caught his eye but as usual he has eyes for his little brother Killua only and doesn't appear to have noticed anyone in particular._

_"Hmm, I kinda like Killua as well~" Hisoka tells him in all honesty and his Zoldick friend seems to have trouble controlling his bloodlust at the mention of his little brother. Still he manages to simply give a death glare to the magician warning him that it's not a subject he should joke about which only makes Hisoka chuckle. He likes to tease his friend about his obsessive brotherly love, it is one of the few things that can disturb Irumi's usual calm behaviour and he loves it. One day he'll fight Irumi... but their friendship was handy, more so than the prospect of a good fight at least for now._

_"The rookies are interesting this year..." Hisoka says on a more serious tone and Irumi nods._ _« Very intriguing. » He mumbles to himself when the image of Gon's determined eyes flashes in his mind, followed by that of Himiko's deadly glare when he tried to kill her in the swamp. Ah, why were immature fruits always so appealing ? Hisoka wonders as he lets out a small sigh of excitation that does not go unnoticed by Irumi._

_"Someone in mind?" The assassin asks knowingly._

_Hisoka chuckles mysteriously, "Maybe~"_


	6. Unlikely cooperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter to make up for the long wait ^^'

The third phase is finally about to start, the airship leaves us on the top of what Beans called the « Trick Tower ». We must reach its base within the time limit of 72 hours to clear this phase. That sure is a lot of time... I walk to the edge of the Tower to see just how high it is, it's impossible to go down unless you're some professional climber. I doubt that's what they want us to do so I go back to the center to think about it, just then I hear a scream and turn around. I just have the time to see a man flying around, tightly trapped between the claws of some kind of huge bird before the ground opens under my feet. _A hidden hatch?_ I wonder as I look at the ceiling from which I just came through. I'm in a dark room barely lit by candles but a screen turns on almost at the same time as I notice it.

« The two of you must get to know each other better or time will run out. Secrets and lies will be punished, honesty will be rewarded. » The panel explains, on the small table in front of it are two stopwatches with a Yes and No button. I guess I need to wait for someone else to get here before I can get started. Still I wonder what this 'getting to know each other' thing is all about. I decide to sit in a corner of the room where it's unlikely someone will fall on me if they find the remaining hidden door. It takes ten more minutes before I hear the noise of stone rustling against stone again. Someone falls and lands on their feet in a feline way I immediately recognize : Hisoka. He straightens his back and take his usual graceful stance, his eyes first land on the screen but he doesn't read and immediately turns his head my way, of course he noticed me straight away. This guy is really sharp...

« What a coincidence... » He says, I shrug as I get on my feet.

« I don't believe in coincidences. » I tell him and he hums.

« Do you mean to say this is destiny ? » He asks playfully.

I smirk, « I mean to say you followed me. » I answer him and he chuckles.

« Me ? Never~ » He says as he takes the stopwatch and read the panel. « Get to know each other, huh ? » He repeats out loud in a voice that shows a bit of interest. He puts the stopwatch around his wrist and as soon as he does a hidden door opens only to reveal another door on which a screen is displaying our first question.

 _Have you ever..._ _Oh boy, this is gonna be fun!_

**Meanwhile Gon, Killua, Leorio and Kurapika notice the number of examinees has been reduced by half and they eventually find four hidden doors that leads them all in the same room. However, they need to be five for the road to open so they patiently wait for someone to find the remaining door. After a certain amount of time someone finally falls in the room and its none other than Tonpa, who somehow got his hands on some antidiarrheal during the race and did his best to stay as far from Himiko as possible ever since. So much that she herself failed to notice he was even there during the cooking phase... (You all know what happens next with the 'majority rule' and all.)**

Hisoka and I are walking through dark corridors dimly lit by candles, everything about the atmosphere seems to have been made in an attempt to make us feel ill at ease and paranoid. I don't mind I like dark places but I don't let my guard down in the presence of that magician. We reach the end of the long corridor where another question awaits us, so far they have been quite boring but something irks me : how do they now if we tell the truth or not?

**_Have you ever killed someone?_ **

Yes, I have. I don't really wonder what Hisoka's answer will be, it's pretty obvious already he has. The questions started nice and easy but the farther we go the more personal and weird it gets. I can tell whoever wrote those questions intended to make us grow wary of each other. Like _'Oh my god I'm alone with a killer!_ ' or ' _I can't believe he did that_ ' and stuff like that. It could have worked on different people but I think we're both too deranged to find any of these answers scary or shocking, haha... As I expected Hisoka answered yes and didn't really react when he saw I answered yes as well. The screen shows the text it always does when we answer truthfully: _**Honesty is rewarded.**_ The door then makes an approval sound and opens before us.

We start walking once more, the field gets a bit more dangerous with some traps and holes here and there which we easily avoid and pass through. I catch Hisoka looking at me a few times though he doesn't really try to be discreet nor does he look away when I notice him. I can tell he is curious about me but he doesn't ask anything nor does he speak at all not even to comment on my answers. It's not an uncomfortable silence but I admit I was expecting this to be more interesting, like some action or something and the fact we have no conversation makes it kinda more boring.

**_Have you ever taken pleasure in killing someone?_ **

« Oh come on, who's in charge to write these things? » I complain to no one in particular. I give Hisoka a sideglance and he smirks creepily, yeah he's definetly the kind of guy to have a blast killing someone. Well then, I won't lie... It was really satisfying to kill some of these assassins hunting me down. Yes I have.

 ** _Honesty is rewarded_**

The door opens after displaying our answers and this time Hisoka looks my way. He chuckles as we resume walking. The place is a real labyrinth but the voices help me and I end up taking the lead of our little duo. To my surprise Hisoka follows my lead and doesn't question how I even know the right path, though he does stare at me with squinted eyes. We enter a pitch black room but as soon as the door closes behind us, a row of candles lit up in green flames all the way up the stairs on our left.

« I've been waiting for you, Hisoka. » A guy who is sitting cross-legged against the opposite wall speaks. « I'm not here as an examiner this time... I'm here for revenge. » He says with a wide smile. _He isn't an examiner this time?_ _Could it be the examiner Tonpa talked about, the one Hisoka nearly killed before getting disqualified?_ The man stands up and takes a knife out before telling Hisoka he has been obsessed with killing him since what happened last year and that he trained hard for this opportunity. He doesn't even glances my way...

_Why am I always being ignored in Hisoka's presence? Uh, well this fight doesn't really concern me._

« Today I'll get payback for those scars! » He says with confidence mixed with anger.

« Those scars merely show your incompetence as an examiner. Don't blame me for your inadequacies. » Hisoka says, twisting the knife in the wound.

«Prepare to die ! » The former examiner yells as he takes a second knife out and starts making them twirl. However he doesn't stop there and throws his two blades in the air before taking out two more knives. « Infinite quad wielding. » He says. _Hah, did he actually name it? Was that supposed to be impressive?_ I sigh and walk away in a corner of the room to leave the two of them enough space to fight. _At last I get to see some action!_ The guy throws two knives in Hisoka's direction, he dodges them with a graceful spinning jump. The blade wielder immediately goes in to attack him with his remaining two knives and Hisoka jumps back to avoid the blow. However the two blades he previously sent his way are coming back like boomerangs and he fails to dodge them in time, one cuts his side and the other his shoulder. The wounds are superficial and given Hisoka's unimpressed face I doubt he is in any trouble. He is assessing, observing and... learning like a predator. Hisoka keeps dodging the never ending flying knives that come his way from all sides, totally composed, while the man laughs maniacally.

« Dodging my infinite attack waves is impossible ! » He shouts at Hisoka with pride.

« Looks easy to me... » I say out loud while I'm holding my head in my hand, bored, this fight is not as interesting as I hoped. This guy doesn't even realize he has already lost. He seems to finally notice my presence or at least he acknowledges it for the first time and turns to me with a slightly mad expression.

« I have no grievance with you but you better watch your mouth. » He says as he grabs the flying knives and throws them again in Hisoka's direction without looking.

« You're so stupid. If you really want to take revenge on someone you have to do better than that... Revenge has to be carefully planned.» I explain him, one year is not enough if you really want to surpass someone. It should be common sense... besides the longer you wait the sweeter the taste.

« Don't say I didn't warn you! » He yells angrily and throws one of his knives my way. I don't have to dodge, I've been playing with knives since I'm ten years old I can handle one knife. I catch the rotating blade in my hand without bothering to stand up. The look of shock on the man's face is priceless, more worth it that the whole fight I've witnessed to be honest. He gasps and mutters inintelligible things.

« Man, I can't believe it took you half a year to master catching these blades... How bad can you be ? » I say making fun of him.

« H-how do you... ? » He stutters wondering how I know about his training. The voices told me of course and I fully intended to disturb him with that bit of information.

I smirk and point behind him, « You should watch your back, you know. » I tell him reminding him that he is in the middle of a fight. He turns back around only to see that Hisoka has also caught the blades in his hands, he is making them spin the same way the man was doing earlier as if he had done it all his life.

« Oh, it's easier than I anticipated. » He says making fun of his ability too. If this guy doesn't die here, his ego sure will. « I appreciate your futile efforts. » Hisoka says with a twisted smile. Defeated, the man yells one last time out of anger and frustration before Hisoka beheads him. The distant sound of a door opening can be heard, we cleared this stage but neither of us move. The atmosphere is heavy, I can tell this battle got Hisoka a bit excited since I can feel his bloodlust has yet to disappear. But it's only when he looks my way I realize just how dangerous he is right now and it's not because of his fight with the man. He looks at the blade in my hand with a huge smile on his face and I grip it tighter. I take a fighting stance out of reflex, ready to defend myself if need be. The fact that I managed to grab the blade is a dead give away of my true abilities with knives and it's clear Hisoka likes this bit of information. I steel myself and get ready for a fight, it's him or me. However the tension suddenly drops when Hisoka takes his head in his hand and starts chuckling uncontrallably with his shoulders shaking. I relax my body and wait for him to explain himself while I look at him, confused. He finally exhales in a way that reminds me of someone moaning before fixing his gaze on me, his hand still hiding most of his face as if it helped him keeping his cool.

« You are full of surprises~. Did someone teach you, or did you learn by yourself? » He asks genuinely curious. I know he isn't asking me if I was taught to grab a rotating flying knife but rather who taught me how to fight with knives.

« By myself. » I answer him. A dagger, it was the only weapon I have ever had with me, the easiest to replace, the cheapest, the easiest to hide, the lightest... The best option for a homeless little girl. No one taught me, I had to learn in order to survive. In the end it's all the people I've fought and survived against who taught me things. He hums as if satisfied with my answer and simply turns his back before starting to walk to the next room. I follow behind him but at a safe distance, at least until I feel like he has completely calmed down. Hisoka doesn't glance behind him, nor does he engage in any conversation, it's as if he tries to forget about my existence and right now I don't mind. I would enjoy fighting against him, I know that. What I also know is that it would likely be my last battle and I do enjoy life as well. I wonder if there's anyway we could fight one day without having to kill each other? We arrive at yet another door and I read the question in my mind.

**_Have you ever wanted to kill the person next to you?_ **

Hah, for once Hisoka's answer is obvious. As for me, while I did think about killing him if need be, I've never actually wanted to do it. So I guess saying no in this case is not a lie. I look at Hisoka's face but he is unreadable. I answer no without hesitation but Hisoka takes his time. He looks deep in thought and I really wonder what takes him so long... He finally pushes one of the buttons, however, the screen bips and becomes red indicating that one of us has not been honest. Both our answers display on the screen : Hisoka's answer which is a No written in red and mine which is a No in green.

« What the... » I wonder out loud while Hisoka frowns slightly. « Why the hell did you have to lie ? » I berate him and he looks at me seriously.

« I wanted to see what happens if we lie and also if it could tell the difference. » He explains pointing at his watch.

« Dammit we were almost there! » I say frustrated. _What's in store for us now?_

« Hm, I wonder how they know... » He mumbles to himself. The floor starts shaking... The screen shows a new text : **_Liars are punished._**

« Your watches are equipped with a lie detector. » A man's voice explains through the room's speakers.

Hisoka hums, « I see ~ »

I roll my eyes, « Happy now? I think it's pretty obvious to anyone who has eyes that you wanted to kill me earlier! » I exclaim angrily. If he wants to lie to test things why not, it's fine, but why doing it on the most obvious answer?! And so close to our goal! Hisoka can't help but chuckle which annoys me even more.

« If I were you, I'd move from here... and quickly! » The man advices us through the speakers cutting off our argument. I can hear something coming our way at high speed. _Uh-oh..._

 **Turn left !** A voice tells me and without thinking I grab Hisoka's shirt and start running to the left before whatever is coming our way reaches us. Hisoka looks slightly surprised but follows me anyway, we keep running through corridors turning left or right depending on what the voices tell me. This time the path is ridden with much deadlier traps than the previous ones. The floor suddenly collapses under me, revealing sharp spikes ready to impale us should we fall. Long blades come out of the walls and rotate nearly cutting our legs when suddenly the path ahead crumbles, leaving behind nothing but an unstable platform. If we want to cross we need to both walk at the same speed on each side of the platform to keep it from tilting to one side, which would cause one of us to fall and die. I risk a look behind to see what is coming our way and it happens to be a huge ball rolling and crushing everything on its way to us. We manage to get across rather easily, teamwork seems to come to us naturally which really surprises me since neither of us are teamplayers. We go all the way down a slopping corridor, however we reach a dead end. I look at the wall with a blank face, _wait what?_

Did I miss something? The voices couldn't have been wrong... right?

 **Trust us.** Martha's reassuring voice echoes in my head and I decide to listen, it's not like I have much of a choice now but either way the voices have never lied to me. I trust them. Hisoka -who had been staring at me with a smile during the whole race- is now looking at the wall with a frown. He can't destroy it, it's too thick for bare hands. Even with tools it would take hours... The ball would be powerful enough to break it but it would crush us before hitting it, we can't avoid it since the ball is exactly the size of the corridor. There's no space for us to dodge it.

 _Fine, let's do this!_ I walk in front of him and with both my hands I push him against the wall, « Trust me. » I say as I look into his eyes. I go next to him and put my back against the wall as well, trying my best to flatten my body against the wall as we wait for the ball to finally reach us and hopefully not kill us. Hisoka looks puzzled but pleased at the same time as if he enjoyed me taking the lead. _How can he smile in such a situation? His life is on the line and in my hands yet he... enjoys it?_ The ball arrives towards us at full speed and I brace myself for impact as I hold my breath. However the ground starts crumbling down under the ball's weight, it manages to roll all the way down stopping only inches from my nose before the ground finally gives in under our feet and we start falling. I can't hold back a scream of surprise as we fall with the ball. Unfortunately it reaches the ground before us and breaks through the floor. _We'll die if it keeps breaking through floor after floor like this!_ It was without thinking Hisoka could actually do something about it. Before we could reach the hole and go down even further, he grabs me by the waist and somehow pulls us out the way. He was so quick to do it I failed to see exactly how or what he did. I saw him do some movement with his arm and then I felt like we were pulled by some cable... that can't be right, it's obvious he has none. _Is this one of the magician's tricks?_

We land on a safe, solid ground and I burst out laughing. « Hahahaha, that was amazing! It was the funniest thing since the beginning of this exam, hands down! » I exclaim and Hisoka chuckles at my good mood.

« Applicant n°44 Hisoka and n°1 Himiko are the first ones to pass the third phase. » A robotic voice says through speakers much to our surprise.

« Yes! I knew it, you guys are the best!! » I exclaim out loud, thanking the voices and making a little victory dance under Hisoka's confused gaze. He must think I have offically gone nuts.

« Total time: five hours and seventeen minutes. » The bot specifies. Looks like we took one hell of a shortcut! I look around the room and notice it's an oval with rounds of closed doors surrounding us, it's likely through one of those doors we were supposed to arrive. Apparently it's not a requirement since we passed anyway, they probably never expected something like this to happen. The voices new the ground wasn't solid enough in that area to hold the ball's weight and it was right above the goal room! That explains why they led me there instead of making us run all the way. I look behind us to see the damage the ball caused, it made a hole in the shape of an almost perfect circle. I take a look in the hole to see that the ball has stopped it's descent on the level just below ours. I guess that fall wouldn't have killed us but definetly could have injured us.

Aaaand now it's just the two of us, for god knows how long. I glance at Hisoka who is taking in our new surroundings, I can see his wounds better here with the light and I decide to take a closer look. As soon as I step next to him he turns his head my way curiously while I look at the wound he has on his side.

« Does it hurt? » I ask him, not really concerned but curious.

Hisoka raises an eyebrow, « Do you want to kiss it better? » He asks playfully.

I laugh at his joke, « No, but I can cut it deeper if you want.» I offer him with a mischievous smile and he chuckles. Just like that the conversation is over, Hisoka is much like a cat it's when he wants and how he wants. I don't mind though, I'm independant and used to be alone. Hisoka sits some place he found to his liking I guess and I decide to sit as well and get comfortable, we'll be here for a while after all. I take my tarot cards out and start doing random readings just for fun, after a few hours I'm so bored I start doing games such as trying to guess which card I'm going to pull out next before I see it and stuff like that. Finally something happens, I can hear distant noises and one of the door opens to reveal Guitaraku.

« Applicant n°301 Guitaraku is the third to pass the third phase. » The bot announces as the man steps in the room, his gaze goes to me and then to Hisoka, he decides to go sit next to the Magician much to my surprise. _Do they know each other?_ I don't see any other reason why someone would so casually walk up to Hisoka.

« Total time : twelve hours and two minutes. » The robotic voice goes on.

« I figured you had already arrived. » Guitaraku says to the magician with a trembling jaw that reminds me of a marionette for some reason.

Hisoka grins from where he sits, « Some lady's luck... » He says as he sneaks a glance at me and I flash him a smile, proud of my previous perfomance.

“Oh? How interesting...” Guitaraku whispers, he sounds slightly surprised. I can't tell if it's because he didn't expect me to be of any help or if it's because I spent hours with Hisoka and didn't get myself killed. In any case, Guitaraku sits not too far from Hisoka but at a correct distance as to leave him some space and silence settles in the room once more. Twenty-five hours.... Twenty-seven... Twenty-nine....

“AAARGH, I can't take it anymore!” I exclaim as I raise to my feet, it's so boooring. I gather my cards and sets them back in my pouch hanging from my pant's belt.

Hisoka looks at me with an amused face, “Bored already?” He asks “You really are impatient...” He berates me though it kinda sounds like he likes it more than anything else.

“I liked it better when we had to run for our lives... This is just boring.” I say as I pout like a child.

Hisoka chuckles, “Care for a game of cards then?” He offers and a smile spreads on my face. Now that's an activity I like!


End file.
